Tales of the Ocean City
by awakendreamer
Summary: Coming from Lagaard, a zodiac will learn to conquer the labyrinth while at the same time not letting the revelations it brings wear her down. Joined by others in this endeavor, what will they find in Yggdrasil's depths?  T for possible swearing later on
1. Across the sea

_I suppose I might as well start this journal while I have time; besides, there is nothing else to do and it would be nice for someone to know what happened to the future guild should something happen to it. Anyway, me and someone else I met in Lagaard are heading to Armoroad, after hearing about yet another Labyrinth there. At this point, I'm really starting to wonder just how many there are; first one in Etria, then one in Lagaard, and now another in Armoroad? It just seems a bit odd, to me...someone must have made these Labyrinths too, since from what I can tell, they're all alive in some way._

_Anyway, the other person with me appears to be from an eastern land; at least, her clothing suggests so. From what I can tell, she's a shogun, though she isn't talking to me all that much...I wonder what could have happened to make her so quiet? It's obvious she's been into Lagaard's Labyrinth, so that could be it...that place is full of horrors that some might not be able to handle. I get the feeling that's not why she's quiet though. Anyway, she and I met through the reputation of the guild I was in that was exploring the Lagaard Labyrinth._

_Indomitable Heights was the name of my guild; I didn't go on a lot of explorations with them, but my guild was the one to conquer the Lagaard Labyrinth. I don't know exactly what went on down there on the bottommost depths of that place, but soon after getting to the depths of it, they left, or at least, the main members did that were still alive; they were heading to Armoroad. I, meanwhile, didn't know what to do; after all, Lagaard was where I had lived for the last few months...and I didn't think I could go back to my homeland. True, I hadn't lived that long; I still haven't lived that long, since I'm still a kid._

_After a while, I came to the decision to follow after them; this wasn't too difficult. Despite my desire to adventure, I was still royalty; true, I wasn't at my home often at all, but it was still my home. I easily booked passage to Lagaard, and that was when I met Afia, the girl with me right now. She somehow recognized me as part of Indomitable Heights, and correctly guessed that I was heading to Armoroad now too. She didn't reveal much(in fact, she revealed nothing) about why she wanted to go to Armoroad, but she begged me to take her with me._

_I don't know why, but I decide to do so; a gut feeling, I suppose. She's just as young as me, but like I mentioned earlier, something had to have happened in the Lagaard Labyrinth for her to be so quiet now. I would hazard to say that she's thinking, just as much as I am thinking right now. What exactly am I going to do once I'm in Armoroad? It's likely my former guild ventured into the Armoroad Labyrinth, which means if I want to find them, I'm going to have to do the same._

A zodiac sighed as she closed the book she had previously been writing in, and she cast a glance towards the other occupant of the room. The other occupant, a shogun, was just as young as the zodiac, about the age of 11 or 12, and unlike most other ronin or shoguns that the zodiac had seen, she had forgone the ponytail a lot of them sported and instead opted to just let her black hair hang down. As for her armor, it was obviously in an eastern-style, or at the least, eastern inspired, and the zodiac had the feeling that it was mostly for show; it did look rather ornate, after all.

The zodiac herself, meanwhile, also sported long hair, although her hair was straighter than the shogun's rather messy hair, but it was just as black. She had a yellow eye color, though it looked a lot more like gold than yellow, and she wore the usual attire of zodiacs; a dress with a yellow star in the top center of it, with the dress being silver in color. Her attire was simple, yet at the same time elegant; that was probably due to the tights the females wore. The mechanical rig that looked somewhat like wings that all zodiacs had was currently beside the bed the zodiac slept in during the sea journey, with the other device on her hair currently turned off. As for the book with a star on it that, again, all zodiacs had, that was also near the mechanical rig.

"Are you going to tell me yet why you want to go to Armoroad, Afia?" the zodiac questioned of the shogun, who was also currently writing in a book; the zodiac briefly wondered if the girl was doing the same thing she was before returning to the task at hand. "No, not yet, Murdia. If you need to know, I'll tell you." Afia responded to the zodiac known as Murdia, who let out a sigh at the response. Murdia hoped that, by the time they neared Armoroad, the girl would open up some more; there would have to be complete trust between the two of them if Murdia wanted Afia to join a new guild with her.

"Should have expected that answer," Murdia commented, before placing her journal down on the bed she had been sitting on and standing up, stretching just a little. "I think I'm going to go out on the deck for a little while before going down to the recreation room," Murdia told Afia, who merely nodded her head in response as she went back to her writing. After a moment, Murdia left the room, muttering something about the stubbornness of shoguns under her breath.

"Maybe the stars will reveal something," Murdia told herself as she went up on top, being greeted by the sight of experienced sailors, a seemingly endless ocean, and the night sky, glittering with stars. Murdia smiled just a bit at spotting the stars; they were, after all, the source of her power...and besides that, they were quite majestic and beautiful. Murdia chose a relatively lone place on the deck before closing her eyes and going into a sort of trance. Thankfully, no one bugged her while doing this; she had done it often on the journey.

"Silence is broken at a journey's end?" Murdia muttered to herself a moment later, opening her eyes and glancing up to the stars. "That's suspiciously obvious..." she muttered; to the soldiers that were watching her, it would seem like she was talking to the stars. _I have the feeling that prophecy means more than just Afia opening up when we near Armoroad_ Murdia told herself as she stood up. A short time later, she was doing just as she had told Afia, heading down to the recreation room.

It seemed like forever, but within weeks, the ship the two were on were within sight of Armoroad; the sailors saying so was almost redundant since many people were already rushing to the deck to catch sight of the grand city. Despite the Calamity a century ago, the city was prospering now, probably due to all the commerce it was getting from adventurers coming and going, although most of them never left Armoroad for one reason or another. Murdia, throughout the entire journey, had been attempting to get Afia to tell her why she wanted to go to Armoroad anyway, and finally, it seemed like the shogun decided to speak.

"Since we're almost in Armoroad, are you going to tell me yet why you want to go there? I'd say it has something to do with something that happened in the Lagaard Labyrinth, but what?" Murdia questioned, frowning as she stared intently at Afia. Just as it seemed like their usual habits would occur, Afia did something different for once and put down her journal.

"It's simple, actually. My former guild ventured into the Labyrinth one day and never came out. Another guild later found the dead bodies of a majority of them, although one of them somehow escaped whatever had killed them. I wanted to get through the Lagaard Labyrinth for their sake, but then...well, your guild came along and did just that...so I decided the next best thing I could do was defeat a different Labyrinth in their name," Afia explained; Murdia could see it had taken a lot for the girl to say just that.

"But I can't do that on my own, and I didn't have any money to get a ride to Armoroad...so, well, that's why I asked you to take me with you, since you had been part of the guild that defeated the Lagaard Labyrinth." Afia went silent after that, staring at the ground for a while before noticing Murdia had moved; she was now sitting on the same bed as Afia, next to her, also staring towards the ground. "I think you can do it," Murdia finally settled on saying that, casting a glance to Afia. "You have a lot of inner strength...I don't have that. I'm just going to Armoroad to chase after my guild; I think I'm rather lost without them," she admitted, letting out a small smile, although to Afia, it seemed to be a bit of a sad smile.

"I think we should get through the Labyrinth here together." Murdia said, and after a moment, Afia nodded her head. "Yeah...I think we should too. Plus, along the way, we'll both achieve our goals." Afia replied, and Murdia also nodded her head. To seal the trust and friendship the two had just made, Murdia mustered up her courage and gave Afia a small hug before pulling away and returning to her own bed. Suffice it to say that was a bit of a surprise to Afia; she wasn't quite used to having friends or getting hugs; most shoguns were solitary people.

"Do you think your former guild is trying to conquer this labyrinth too?" Afia questioned of the zodiac who was just pulling out her journal. "Yeah, probably...I can't blame them either. These labyrinths are unnatural...they shouldn't exist," Murdia replied as she opened her journal. "Plus, they're just plain dangerous. Stupid adventurers easily get killed inside the labyrinths, no matter which one they venture into." Murdia added a moment later before going silent and beginning to write in her journal. Afia wondered whether she should speak more before deciding to go for it.

"You know, there is another reason why I decided to beg you, instead of other people at the docks," Afia said; at this, Murdia looked up from her journal in puzzlement, obviously wondering what this other reason was. "I'm a shogun, and as such, I ruled over people at one time, despite my young age. Thing is, I'm pretty sure I've seen you somewhere before, at some event between my people and people from a northern land," Afia explained, watching Murdia carefully. The girl was still looking at her, although her look of puzzlement was gone; instead, it looked to Afia as if she was trying to hide what she was thinking. "You were, or rather, are, a princess, aren't you?" Afia decided to ask.

"Yes, I am a princess, of Aeaea." Murdia admitted, before looking back to her journal, obviously not too keen to discuss the subject. "I take it you were sent to Lagaard to investigate what was going on there, due to the economy Lagaard provided Aeaea. I don't think they'd send you to Armoroad, since the trade route between the two has been severed for quite some time...don't you think they're gonna renounce your title as princess if you're going rogue like this?" Afia asked one last question. "You're right about everything you just said." was all Murdia said in response.

_Finally got Afia to open up to me; apparently, she wants to conquer this labyrinth in the name of her last guild, who perished while exploring Lagaard's dungeon. She didn't have any money to get to Armoroad, hence why she begged me to take her along; she figured that since I had been a part of a famous guild, I had some money. While that is true, it isn't as much money as she probably thinks. Now she looks as if she isn't done talking, so I'll write a little more when she's done._

_Well, she just got done talking; she's a lot smarter than I figured her to be, all things considered. She looks just as old as me, yet she's already managed to be in control of a country, or something similar? Granted, it was(or is) probably a small one, but still. Plus, she managed to figure out my heritage as princess of Aeaea; just my luck that one of the few events I attend happens to have had that girl at it._

_Anyway, all of that aside, we should reach Armoroad within the week, at the most. This is a reassuring thought; if I spent more than another week on this ship, I think I'd be permanently sick. I might not show it, but I'm not one for prolonged travel at sea. Plus, there's an anxious feeling in the pit of my stomach and I don't know why...I think I should consult the stars about this._

_Just finished consulting the stars...I still get the feeling that Afia thinks I'm weird for doing the trance needed to consult them. That doesn't really matter though; I might just be imagining it. Anyway, apparently I should "watch out for the little fanged one". Now what in the world is that supposed to mean? It seems so obvious, but at the same time, there's so many things it could be talking about...some sort of monster in the labyrinth, perhaps?_

"Murdia...wake up; we're at Armoroad," was the voice that greeted the barely awake zodiac. A series of unintelligible noise came from Murdia before it looked like she went quiet again. The next instant, Murdia was aware that someone had just yanked her by her feet clean off of the bed. "Ow...what was that for?" Murdia grumbled to the exasperated shogun as she got up. "I had to wake you up; otherwise, the ship would have left port with the two of us still on it, and I don't think either of us would want that." Afia explained. Murdia knew the girl was right, but she still let out a sigh as they headed for the door.

Once up on deck, Murdia stopped for a moment to take in the sight of Armoroad. They had seen it before from a distance, true, but it was much more majestic and magnificent up close. In Murdia's opinion, it was almost more beautiful than the stars; she had a feeling that, at night, Armoroad's beauty was amplified even more. "Come on, come on, get a move on Murdia. The captain looks annoyed that we're just standing here." Afia said, poking Murdia in the back a little to get her moving. "Oh, um...right, sorry," Murdia replied before continuing to move towards the exit; it was at that moment that she caught sight of something small and white dart across the deck of the ship.

"Hold it...what was that thing?" Murdia asked, gesturing in the direction the thing had been. "What thing?" the captain asked, now within hearing range of the two young girls. "It was small and white...and it darted across the deck. That's all I saw..." Murdia explained; Afia seemed to think Murdia was imagining it while the captain believed her. "I've been getting reports from sailors on deck about the same thing...plus, rations keep mysteriously going missing. Some sort of animal probably snuck on board before we left Lagaard." He explained, before gesturing to the gangplank again, obviously waiting for them to get off so an actual search for the creature could be commenced.

It was at that exact time that Murdia saw the same thing, except this time it didn't dart across the deck; no...instead, it was walking straight towards her. Now that she could clearly see it, she saw it was a small, white kitten...and when it meowed towards the three of them, she could see rather sharp fangs on it. _Watch out for the little fanged one...these prophecies ARE getting too obvious..._ Murdia told herself. "So...it was a cat terrorizing everyone...odd." Murdia commented before heading to the gangplank, trying her best to ignore the cat.

"I think it's following us, Murdia," Afia said to her as they attempted to leave. Murdia glanced back towards where the cat had been and could see that it indeed did appear to be following them. "I also think he's not gonna stop..." Afia added once they had crossed the gangplank. Again, it seemed Afia was right, since the small creature was still following them. "I suppose we have no choice but to take him with us then..." Murdia commented. The cat seemed to understand this and, with another meow, it followed closer to them as they walked along.

A short while later, the two humans and a cat found themselves inside of the Explorers Guild; from the outside, it looked like quite a big place, and inside, it was the same. It was also a very busy place; so much so that Murdia clung to Afia's arm so that the two of them didn't get themselves lost in the crowd. The reason it was so busy was because that guilds without a headquarters were provided one in the huge Explorers Guild; hence, people of different guilds were coming and going.

In the center of all this chaos was a large, tanned man talking to an apparently new group of adventurers. This man had strange taste in clothing, at least in Murdia's opinion; aside from his clothing, the only other distinctive thing about him was a scar that ran across his nose. The man finished speaking with the new group; at that point, Murdia, Afia, and the cat approached him. "New explorers, I take it? How are you enjoying this fine city so far?" He asked in a bit of a gruff voice, though Murdia detected warmth and life behind the gruffness.

"It's a beautiful city; just as beautiful as my hometown, though my town specializes in forests and trees, not the ocean." Murdia commented. "We're here to start a new guild!" Afia proclaimed, in a bit of a...cheery voice. Murdia cast a glance towards the other girl before looking back to the guildmaster and nodding her head a little. "Ah, well, you better take these. I give 'em to every new guild, so make good use of them!" the man replied, handing the two girls four documents. He waited for them to finish examining them before continuing to speak.

"First, you have to write your guild name on the certificate; the big, rolled up piece of paper with a red seal on it. You should think a little bit before writing your name on it; your guild might be famous one day, like Indomitable Heights, or Lounging Fang." he informed them. While the two of them went off in a relatively quite area to talk to each other, the man greeted yet another new group. "Mmh, he seems like a cheery sort. Wonder where he got the scar." Murdia commented dryly. "Psh, doesn't matter right now. We can't keep him waiting too long; got any ideas for a name?" Afia asked.

"Kvnui." Murdia said simply before starting to unroll the certificate. "Kvnui? But...why that?" Afia asked, frowning as she watched Murdia. "It's an ancient, ancient word that means 'bright', Afia." Murdia explained before writing down the guild name on the certificate. "Huh...bright. I guess that works; Kvnui sounds a lot better than just plain bright, after all." Afia said, agreeing with the name before the two of them returned to the guildmaster. "Kvnui? Huh, that's a bit of an odd name," He commented, rubbing his chin as he read the name on the certificate before returning it to them, this time with a stamp on it showing their guild was approved.

"Obviously, the next step, and the last step really, is to register adventurers into your guild. You might have to hire a few folks, but you have the option of joining the guild yourself as well." He told the two of them. "More adventurers...hm, well, it's really only the two of us at the moment..." Murdia said, and soon after she said that, she heard footsteps approaching them. When she turned to see who it was, she could tell it was a hoplite, at the least, and the girl's attention seemed focused on them.

The woman looked to be about 20, at the very least, with a rather striking hair color; it seemed to be either gray or a very light purple. Her hair style was rather simple, yet it added to her appearance too; twin ponytails with black ribbons holding them in place. The other striking thing about her were her eyes; like her hair, they were of an unusual color, which was red. She was also tanned, and other than that, one couldn't make much else out of her physical appearance since she had on heavy armor, with what seemed to be some sort of dress or, at the least, skirt on underneath.

"I'm willing to join the two of you. I have been looking for a new guild to join anyway." the hoplite said as she approached; after a moment, Murdia nodded your head. "What's your name?" Afia asked, just before Murdia was about to ask the same thing. "I'm Eda; I've been in the Labyrinth before, but...I seem to have amnesia, since I don't remember much of anything that happened after the 1st stratum." she explained. "Really? That stinks...hopefully you'll get your memory back while with us," Afia said, before turning back to the guildmaster; before she could speak to him, another voice called out.

"Hey, if Eda here is gonna be joining you, I think I will be too," the owner of the voice told them. This time, it was a monk, or at least, his appearance suggested it. He had just about the same hair color as Eda, though in comparison to her, his eyes were yellow, though more golden than yellow. He seemed a little older than Eda, about 22 or 23, with glasses perched on his face and rather white skin compared to Eda. He also had on some sort of pants that Murdia hadn't seen before, with a top on that had its bottom half in the back flowing so that it went against the back of his legs.

His hair style, meanwhile, caused Murdia to try and suppress herself from making some sort of comment about it; she never liked bowl cuts, which was what his hair style was. The only difference was the fact that he had a rather long ponytail. "And you are?" Murdia asked him, still trying to suppress her comment about his hair. "Ignius the great, at your service! Eda is an old pal of mine, ain'tcha?" he proclaimed. "Ugh...for the last time, no I'm not. I've known you for...what, two weeks?" Eda replied.

"Aw...c'mon, don't be like that. We really hit it off when we first met!" he exclaimed. With a sigh, Eda looked away from him and towards Murdia. "If I were you, I would let him join. He might be a bit unusual, but he is good in the healing arts," Eda said, casting a glance at the man before looking back to Murdia. "Though, he does have a bad habit of getting hammered every time he comes out of the Labyrinth...so that might hinder forays into the labyrinth." Eda told her, and in response, Murdia nodded her head. "You," she said, pointing a finger at Ignius. "I'll let you join so long as you don't get drunk every time we come out of the labyrinth. If you do that, it'll take years to fully explore it." Murdia said. After a few disgruntled comments from him, he nodded his head.

"Well, looks like we have four people. Anyone else here going to interrupt me before I'm about to speak to the guildmaster" Afia commented as she looked around. After a moment of quiet, she looked back at the man. "Well, that's our guild for now: Murdia the zodiac who is also the leader, Afia the shogun, Eda the hoplite, and Ignius the monk." she told the man. After a couple of scribblings on a piece of paper, the man nodded his head. Before the group left, they decided to speak with the guildmaster one more time.

"Eh? You want my advice? Well, you should head to the Senatus next; old Flowdia will probably want to talk to you. Oh, and about the documents I gave you with the certificate? If I were you, I'd read them carefully; I think they'll be helpful if you plan to go far into the labyrinth." he informed them before waving them off. With that said and done, the group left the guild and, after a couple of moments of deliberation, the group next went to the Senatus.

The woman they met was in stark contrast to the guildmaster; she was a bit hunched, had white hair, and although Murdia felt this was paranoia, wasn't sharing everything with them. She was leaning on a cane when they entered, and had on quite a bit of jewelry; she also had on a yellow dress with some kind of red fabric near the upper area of it.

"A new guild, I assume? Were you drawn here by the Labyrinth?" the woman said before they could speak. The only thing they could do was listen to her; she did have a rather commanding presence. "Then remember this: you are in the core of Armoroad's government, the heart. You are in the Senatus. I am the one who has the power to manage people like you," she told them, giving the four of them a stare before continuing. "This is where skills are tested to separate cowards from actual adventurers. If you want to prove your skills, accept the mission I issue to all new guilds." the woman finished. Murdia was again trying to restrain herself, this time to not let her temper about getting called a coward get out.

"In the end, your mission is to draw a map of the first floor," the woman continued after they had accepted her mission. "The guard on the first floor will tell you more; of course, you will need parchment to write your map on," she said, before rummaging through a drawer and producing a blank map. "I expect to see you back here soon." the old woman said as she handed the map over. "Er...yeah, see you soon." Afia responded as they left. "Man, that Flowdia...she has such a commanding presence, doesn't she?" Afia was saying to Murdia as they headed for the inn now.

"Mmh...indeed. I wonder what this labyrinth will be like." was all Murdia said in response. "Hey, Eda, guess what?" Ignius said to the hoplite. "Ugh...I have the feeling I'm going to regret this, but what?" she said in reply. "Well, we're the two adults here, right? And they're kids. Kinda like we're the parents, eh?" Ignius said with a chuckle. "...You're drunk already, aren't you?" was Eda's response to his question. Ignius' response to that was a full-out laugh instead of just a chuckle.


	2. The fifth member appears!

[[AN: I realize that the Innkeeper's son is not a girl, so don't mention that if you review this]]

"Welcome to Aman's Inn, boss!" was what they heard later upon entering the inn. The girl had white skin, and purple hair that was styled similarly to a bowl cut, but not exactly the same. She also had on a rather plain shirt which was yellow, with purple sleeves and purple attachments at the shoulders. She also had on black, cotton shorts, or at least, the group thought it was made of cotton. The group questioned the tie, and the fact that the girl's bra was apparently showing, but didn't comment on this as the girl continued.

"You can spend the night here; plus, if you get all banged up in the labyrinth, we have doctors here that are able to treat your wounds!" the girl told them. "Hey, Afia; she's almost as cheerful as you are." Murdia commented to the shogun before the girl spoke again. "So...this your first time in Armoroad? It's a great place, ain't it? It has such blue skies, and clear seas!" she exclaimed, giving them a grin before going back to her duties. "Huh...wonder if she greets everyone like that." Murdia added.

"Ah, right, I almost forgot. Have you been all around Armoroad yet? It's called the ocean city because everyone ends up here at one point or another! Heck, I bet you'd like to take a walk around town before actually going into the labyrinth!" she added a moment later, giving them another happy smile before once more going back to her duties. "O...kay, I think she's done now. We'd better go introduce ourselves to all the other important people in the city." Afia commented, and with that, they left.

"You know...I don't think that was a girl." Ignius told them as they left, heading for a place called Napier's Firm; apparently, it was the biggest shop around. "Really? And why do you say that, oh great psychic?" Afia asked of him, and he grinned a bit. "Let's just call it my instincts. They haven't been wrong yet." he informed them. "...and have you used these instincts before?" Eda asked. "Uh...ah, well, no, not really, but still!" he cried out.

"Unfamiliar faces...enticed here by the sweet, sweet scent of profit. Welcome to Napier's Firm; we carry everything you could possibly want," a woman greeted them as the group examined the merchandise that was in the store. "Here, the customer is God, and we are willing to do anything for those who line our coffers." the woman continued. "Anything?" Ignius replied in a suggestive tone; a moment later, he was hit in the back of the head by a certain hoplite. "I wish you weren't drunk right now...then again, you still probably would have said that." Eda commented to him.

The woman herself had blue hair, green eyes, white skin, and what could only be described as eastern-style clothing. The only one who had seen such clothing before was Afia, and since her armor was eastern-style, she would probably be one to know such a fact. The only other noteworthy thing, in the guild's opinion at least, about her were the unusual earrings she had on. They looked like they had some sort of purple fabric attached to them that were rather small.

"Hm, you lot seem...troubled. Well, listen up," the woman told them; at this, the group looked towards her. "Skilled adventurers aren't stingy with their money. After all, being stingy never saved a life, did it?" she told them. "Except when you need en for a very expensive surgery, or an expensive healer." Murdia muttered to herself. "Everything depends on money. It dictates if you're going to conquer the labyrinth or die with no money. Now, what can I get you?" she finished, a money-grubbing look in her eyes.

"How much would you be willing to sell those for?" Afia asked eagerly, and without skipping a beat, while pointing at the hair decs in the woman's hair. "Mmh? For you...100,000 en, up front, no tabs." the female responded. "1-100,000 en? That's a fortune...I think you're a rip-off, Eddie!" Afia complained. "...It's Edie, and now it's 111,000 en." she said in response. "I knew that! I was insulting you! Wait, why is it higher now?" Afia frowned as she said this. "Tax for arguing with me. Do you want them or not?" Edie asked, giving Afia a small grin.

Disgruntled, the group left the firm, Afia still complaining about the money-grubber. "I mean, really! 100,000 en! Why, I should steal 'em from her hair while she's sleeping! That'll show her!" Afia said to herself more than anyone else. "...Won't Armoroad Public Security arrest you then?" Murdia added in. "Oh...right. Thanks for bursting my bubble, Murdia." Afia said, frowning before she crossed her arms. "You're welcome." Murdia told the shogun.

"Hm? Welcomes! I am not recognizing you! Are you new explorers?" was what they were greeted with as they walked inside a bar known as the Butterfly Bistro. The first thing that Murdia noticed was the rather impressive chest the woman had; the fact that her dress didn't contain it too well didn't help. Aside from that, the girl had pink hair that flowed down her back, with the front curling a bit and going a bit past the shoulders. She had purple eyes, as well as a necklace around her neck with a blue stone attached to it; her dress, meanwhile, was blue in color, with white ribbons in the center, and black frills on the top. The reason the dress didn't contain her dress too well was due to the fact that it stopped about halfway up her 'endowments'.

"This is the Butterfly Bistro; I am the owner here! When you finish the mission that Flowdia is giving you, you can accept missions here!" she continued, a happy smile on her face as she spoke. "Well, until next time, have fun chattings and drinkings with the others here!" she exclaimed to them. "Ah, do you remember me Missy? I'm in here a lot, in the evenings. You know, I don't think I ever told you my name." Ignius proceeded to speak to the woman, and with a sigh, the rest of the group headed towards the only other person in the bar.

After a rather long chat with the man, who they learned was a troubadour called Wolfram, the group left the bar and approached the entrance to the Labyrinth, they heard a voice call out to them. "Hold!" the man said as he approached them. The man was covered almost head to toe in clothing, so the only real obvious physical aspects were his eye color, hair color and style, and skin color.

The man had purple haired that was tied into a ponytail in the back, with bangs on either side of his face, and one such bang partially covering his left eye. His eyes were a bright blue, while his skin color was just as white as the majority of them. He had blue pants and a blue shirt, looking like they were sweat pants and a sweat shirt, respectively. He also had on armor over his chest, though it only covered his body and didn't extend to the arms. The last thing he had on was a bright red scarf that looked like it was more for fashion than anything else.

"You are guild Kvnui, are you not?" he asked of them, and after glances were exchanged between the group, Murdia nodded. Murdia had noticed that Afia seemed a little on edge, but ignored it for the moment. "It is a pleasure to meet you. My name is Murakaji, and I wish to join you and your guild on its trek into the labyrinth. I have business that I don't wish to disclose at this time in there." Murakaji told them. Murdia noticed some kind of sword scabbard attached to the middle of his body, where his upper and lower body met; more accurately, it was strapped to his lower back, between his shirt and pants.

"It would be useful to have a ninja with us...I hear some can create a copy of themselves on the battlefield. I've also heard legends of some being capable of reducing the energy a technique uses...plus, they also have high evasion." Murdia said to the group. Most of them seemed to agree with the idea of taking him on, especially since most groups went in the labyrinth with five people. Afia, however, seemed to have something to say. "I just wanna say...I feel like I've seen him before. If we do take him on, I think we should be careful. Some ninjas have no qualms about betraying their teammates." Afia told them.

"Alright, we'll let you in the guild...guess we have to go back there to let the guildmaster know we have another person joining us," Murdia said, and with that, the group left for the guild headquarters. By the time they finished registering him, the sun had already began to set. "Well...it looks like the sun's going down. I think we should go to our guild headquarters and tackle the labyrinth in the morning." Murdia said. "Wait, what? We have a guild headquarters?" Afia asked, frowning a bit. "Well, yes; back when my homeland had ties to Armoroad, the royalty of it made a mansion for the diplomat to Armoroad. It's not used anymore, and I know where to find it, so...it's gonna be our headquarters. It'll just need a little fixing up." Murdia said before walking off in the direction the mansion was presumably in.

Just as Murdia had promised, it did look like it needed a little fixing up...or a lot of fixing up; in Murdia's opinion, it would take quite a bit of en to repair it to its former glory. Still, from the outside, it looked pretty good; it was fairly good, and looked like it had three stories to it at least. It was painted a silver color, with a blue roof to go with it. It also had walls surrounding it, white in color, with doors with no discernible way to open them located periodically around it. "How do we open the door?" Ignius questioned as he pushed on it a little bit just to see how sturdy it was.

"Simple; use magic to open it," Afia replied, and for a brief moment, magical energy gathered around her before shooting off towards the door. A moment later it swung open for the group to head in; to their surprise, Murakaji was waiting on the other side for them, apparently having scaled the wall in a short time. "Mmh...he IS good," Murdia commented to herself. "So long as you have this emblem with you, you should be able to pass through the doors easily." Murdia said as she produced an emblem, or rather, four emblems, from one of the pockets in her dress.

The emblem was circular, made of metal, and had an engraving of a tall tree with birds flocking around it. Rather simple, but it had been the official emblem of Aeaea in the past, and it still worked on these doors. "Alright, in we go!" Afia said as they entered into the mansion. Inside, it wasn't as good as it looked on the inside. True, it still looked fantastic compared to what some headquarters looked like, but it needed fixing up to get to its former glory.

"Alright...the rooms are on the second floor, on both the east and west wings. Bathrooms are located at the middle of both the east and west wings, as well as by the stairs leading down to this floor," Murdia explained to them. "The third floor is where the master bedroom is, which is my bedroom if no one has any objections," Murdia paused this time to see if there were any before continuing. "And down on this floor is a kitchen, dining room, living room, an office...basically, the works; any questions?" Murdia asked, and as it turned out, there weren't any.

It wasn't long before the group departed for the second floor, with Murdia going to the third. She decided she would let them pick out their own rooms, although she was aware there might be problems with that. After all, once they got more guild members, they would all be fighting to be the one with the room closest to the bathroom. For the moment, Murdia let them be and headed up to the master bedroom. "Huh...now that I think about it, we haven't paid any attention to you, have we?" Murdia commented to the cat that had been following them all day.

"Guess its a good thing we didn't go into the labyrinth after all...who knows what mighta happened to you?" Murdia said, giving the cat a smile before pulling out her journal and getting under the covers of the rather big bed. It was big enough for two people, but Murdia had a habit of taking up all unoccupied space in a bed, so it was perfect for her. She then turned the lamp on the stand on before turning off the lights attached to the ceiling. The cat, in response to all of this, leaped up onto the bed with her, and then curled up next to her. "Mmh...I think you're gonna be Cloud." she told him before writing in her journal.

_A lot has happened since the last entry. Basically, the little fanged one was a cat...that happened to follow us the whole day and who is currently now curled up against me in the bed; his name is Cloud. After getting off the ship, we headed to all the spots around town: the Explorers Guild, the Senatus, Aman's Inn, and the Butterfly Bistro. The guild, which has the name of Kvnui, also got three members besides me and Afia. They are Eda the hoplite, Ignius the monk, and Murakaji the ninja._

_The guildmaster seems like a gruff guy, but I think he has warmth underneath all that gruffness. He advised us that we should read the scrolls he gave us before setting out to the labyrinth, so it is good that we didn't go out there today, since I haven't yet. I think I will after this entry. Anyway, Eda seems to be your typical hoplite...both in personality and armor choice. She seems the type to be serious all the time, though that changes when she's scolding Ignius._

_Ignius, meanwhile, is a bit of a pervert, in my opinion. I think he's quite taken with Eda, but he did make a pass at the barkeeper of Butterfly Bistro...and he made a comment to the owner of Napier's Firm. Still, he has a kind of charm to him, and he is supposed to be a good healer, at least according to Eda. We'll see how good he is when tomorrow comes._

_Murakaji...well, he's a total mystery. Throughout most of the day after meeting him, which was right before we tried entering the labyrinth, he stayed quiet. I have a feeling that he's on some kind of mission, and he doesn't want anything to get in the way of that. Which explains why he chooses not to talk; it helps him focus on his task. It makes me wonder just what this task is that requires so much concentration._

_I explained Afia earlier, but she was quite different today. I think in public places, she is rather cheerful and upbeat, and in private, she's the opposite. She's withdrawn and quiet when she isn't in a public place. It really makes me wonder if the cheerfulness is an act, or if, when she's alone, bad memories come to her. I just don't know._

_Anyway...after meeting the guildmaster, we headed to the Senatus, where we met an intimidating old woman. I didn't like her too much; she seemed a bit demanding to me. I think that's not just me either; the others didn't speak a lick either when she was speaking to us, save for Afia at the end. It's no wonder she is in charge of the explorers heading into the labyrinth; she could probably end up scolding some of the beasts in there._

_We got a mission from her to map the first floor, to determine if we were really adventurers or just cowards. Let me tell you, I had to hold myself back from shouting at her about that; it was quite rude of her, after all! We soon left the woman, who commented that she hoped to see us soon while we left. Wonder why she would say that...is the first floor of the labyrinth that horrible?_

_We headed off to Aman's Inn next, and were greeted by an...odd girl. For one thing, I think she revealed too much; the shirt she wore was a bit large on her and revealed her bra straps...she doesn't even look that old either. Kinda makes me wonder if other girls my and Afia's age are developing faster. Anyway, she was cheerful enough, which was a plus. She mentioned them having doctors at the inn, so I think we'll stay there if we ever get injured instead of where we are now._

_Soon after, we went to Napier's Firm...I'm still wondering why it's called that if it's owner is called Edie. She seemed like a money-grubber to me, and I think I'm right. She tried selling the hair decs in her hair to Afia for 100,000 en, and then 110,000 en when Afia insulted her and complained about the price. I have the feeling that this is something that Afia is not going to let go._

_We went to the Butterfly Bistro next and, I'm gonna be honest; I got jealous of Missy. I mean...really, she kinda flaunts it, doesn't she? And she doesn't even seem to be aware of the attention she gets! I mean, Ignius was trying to make a pass at her, and she was oblivious to the whole thing. There were a couple useful things we learned there though; later, when we finish Flowdia's mission, she'll let us accept quests people post at the Bistro. The other things we learned from a man named Wolfram._

_He's from the far north, even farther than Aeaea I think. I already knew a lot of what he was talking about, but I was surprised to learn the royal family was led by the old woman Flowdia. I thought Gutrune ruled, but apparently, she's just a figurehead. I knew a lot about the Calamity too, since, as Wolfram mentioned, it ended diplomatic ties with other countries, Aeaea included. Thankfully, my country doesn't meet the Calamity with silence; information on it is available to any that wants it, though there aren't too many details on it._

_Lastly, we learned that Gutrune is apparently a goddess herself descended on Amoroad...or at least, Wolfram made it seem that way; I think he's just taken with her, even if he's never seen her. She's apparently called the Porcelain Princess, and every successive princess in Armoroad is called Gutrune. Wolfram told us he would say why later...wonder why he was being so secret then when he was speaking a lot before?_

_We were about to head into the labyrinth just a little while after when a man stopped us; Murakaji. He was being quite mysterious, but we decided to let him join the guild anyway, if only because we should have five people instead of four when heading into the labyrinth. However, before we could head inside, we had to register Murakaji into the guild, and by the time that was done, the sun was setting. We decided to call it a day and left for a mansion built for an old Aeaea diplomat, now quite abandoned._

_The others are all sleeping right now, and I should as well. However...Cloud, the cat, seems to hear something...at least by the way his eyes keep darting around. I'll write in a little later what this something is, since I'm going to investigate it right now._

Murdia put the journal aside and cast a glance in the same direction Cloud was looking in. She couldn't see anything, yet Cloud seemed to think something was right there. After a moment, Murdia noticed that cloud suddenly looked above them, and also looked like he was about to get up and try to jump at it. In response, Murdia looked in the same direction...and noticed something; or rather, a someone. Much like Murakaji, the girl appeared to be from the east. She wore clothing similar to Edie, but it was a little shorter, ending a little above her knee.

This girl also had light purple hair, much like Eda, with bangs on either side of her head. The rightside bang seemed to go down a bit longer than the left, which Murdia thought unusual. She also had red eyes, and off to one side was a fox mask attached to her head, black in color with golden markings. The girl's kimono was purple in color, with pink flower designs on it; there was also a pink sash around her waist, and a toolbox around her waist too, although it didn't look too heavy.

Finally, much like Murakaji, she had a sword sheath strapped to her lower back, as well as a yellow scarf with red on it that evoked thoughts of flames; to top off the ensemble were black leggings with equally black shoes that didn't appear to be there if you didn't look hard enough. "Uh..." Murdia said in response to this sight, staring at the girl clinging to the ceiling. That was a major tip-off the girl was a ninja, if the clothing wasn't a big hint already.

"_grr...stupid kitty! If you hadn't given me away, zodi here woulda never seen the shadow!" the girl complained, before letting go of the ceiling and, rather gracefully in Murdia's opinion, landing on the bed. Within a moment, the girl was sitting cross-legged opposite of Murdia, staring at her. Murdia, at the moment, was quite sure she had someone crazy on her hands here...plus, she made a note to do something about the walls to prevent ninjas being able to scale them. Then again, they would then just jump over the walls._

"_Er...who are you?" Murdia asked, frowning at the girl. "Who am I? I'm the greatest ninja in every land there is, even ones not discovered yet! I am the apprentice of the red mask! I'm Lyrica!" she exclaimed, in a voice Murdia deemed too loud. "Apprentice of the red mask...you mean Murakaji?" Murdia asked, crossing her arms as she stared at the strange girl. "Yup, yup! He's the one! He abandoned me at the guild all of a sudden; he was just like, there one second and poof the next! He's good like that! I tracked him down like a sneaky snake though and now I've pounced!" Lyrica exclaimed, making hand motions through the whole thing. "I...think the snake stalked the wrong person though." she admitted, frowning a bit at this._

"_Er...right. Why don't you just run along and stalk Murakaji then?" Murdia questioned, and in response, Lyrica shook her head. "Nuh-uh! The snake has to be extra sneaky now that its presence is known, so it will stay in this room until Murakaji ventures into it! Then, then, she'll pounce!" Lyrica informed Murdia. "Err...right, but where are you going to sleep then?" Murdia asked. "I...well, huh. I dunno," Lyrica said with a shrug. "I don't need sleep anyway, at least not 'till the snake pounces upon the red scarf!" she said. "...Sheesh, how old are you anyway?" Murdia decided to ask one more question. "The snake knows not how old it is, but Lyrica is 10!" she replied._

"_Ugh...well, you could sleep in this bed, if you want. It's big enough for two people," Murdia said, glancing towards Cloud, who was giving Lyrica a...well, the closest look a cat can get to puzzled. "And a cat. I think it can fit all of us." Murdia said, and at this, Lyrica grinned. "Yay! The snake thanks the wise owl!" she said before climbing under the covers next to Murdia. "Right...goodnight, Lyrica." Murdia said to the girl before beginning to write in her journal again._

_Well, I know what Cloud was staring at now. It was, apparently, Murakaji's disciple, and...I think she's insane, or at the least, not all there in the head. She keeps making animal analogies, and she also talks in third person a lot. Plus, she apparently wants to pounce Murakaji, which I think equates to scaring him so that he has a heart attack. Where in the world did Murakaji find this girl anyway?_

_She's already fallen asleep though, so that's a bonus; the fact that she's not too nosy, that is. I think it's impressive though that she managed to sneak into my room so effortlessly...wonder what Murakaji could do if he wanted to. When she was awake, she was a bit of a handful and stressful, but now she's kinda adorable. Like an annoying little sister, though I've never had one. Anyway, like I wrote before, I'm going to be getting to sleep soon too. Just one note though...wonder what this 'Great Lynx' some guild in rough shape were talking about is._


	3. The Great Lynx

"Wakey wakey wise owl!" was the first thing Murdia heard the next morning, and then she felt the bed vibrating, as if someone were jumping up and down on it. When she opened her eyes, she saw that this was indeed the case; the girl she had met just last night was now bouncing up and down on the bed, a wide grin on her face, chanting what she had just greeted Murdia with. "I'm awake, Lyrica." Murdia mumbled as she sat up in the bed, frowning at the girl with a rather sleepy expression still on her face. "Hm, I dunno, you still look kinda tired! If you're gonna be exploring the dungeon of evil horrors, then you should be ready to not sleep a lot!" Lyrica rather cheerfully informed her.

"I'll keep that in mind..." Murdia said to Lyrica, offering her a smile. She was thinking that despite being a handful, Lyrica did tend to grow on one rather quickly. "Guild leader Murdia, are you awake?" someone from behind the door to her room asked, while at the same time knocking on the door. Instantly, Lyrica quieted down and hid in one of the corners near the door, since the voice belonged to Murakaji. "Yes, I'm awake, Murakaji. You can come in." she replied, watching the door as it opened.

Murakaji looked around the room as he came in, but didn't see Lyrica; that was mostly because she seemed to vanish, at least to Murdia's eyes. "Ignius and Eda are currently fighting with each other, something about how Ignius should stop bothering Eda. I think they need you to help them resolve this." he said to her. Just as soon as he finished saying that, he turned to leave before Lyrica leaped out. Almost as if he was expecting it, Murakaji moved out of the way and watched as Lyrica flew clear into the wall.

"She followed me here, too?" Murakaji asked himself as he looked at Lyrica, who was rubbing her head, muttering "Ow" a lot, until she eventually stopped. "You weren't supposed to move!" Lyrica exclaimed after the pain subsided, pointing an accusing finger at the other ninja. "It was easy to see you coming. It would have been foolish to not move. Why did you follow me again?" he responded.

"Hold it, she told me she was your disciple. That isn't true?" Murdia asked with a frown; Murakaji answered with a shake of his head, indicating no. "She isn't. On one of the many voyages I go on, I spotted her floating on a piece of driftwood from the ship I was on, and the crew helped bring her on board. After that, it gets quite simple; she's been following me everywhere I've been going." he replied. "So...she kinda stalks you." Murdia said after a moment of silence.

"No no no! I don't stalk him! I just follow him wherever he goes without his knowledge!" Lyrica exclaimed. "Oh...wait, I guess that is stalking him. Still, he saved my life, so I owe something to him!" she said. "Lyrica, if I hadn't found you, someone else would have." Murakaji pointed out. "You don't know that! I coulda let go of that driftwood at any second." she also pointed out, a frown on her face too as she stood up. "...Whatever. Just don't get into too much trouble while you're here." Murakaji said before leaving the room.

"Mmh, I just realized. The ninja of the red scarf just evaded the snake's pounce. The snake has to get better!" Lyrica said, before looking towards the rather perplexed Murdia. "Let me join the guild Murdia! I want to go into that labyrinth with all of you." Lyrica said, with a serious expression on her face that Murdia hadn't seen before. "I don't know about letting you join," Murdia said honestly. "For one thing, you're young; quite young. Plus, the only reason you seem to want to join is to get stronger and better by fighting in the labyrinth. I don't think that's much of a reason." Murdia said honestly.

"That's not the only reason at all. If I had been stronger, if my whole country had been stronger, then what happened to me wouldn't have happened." Lyrica said, watching Murdia as the other girl finally got out of the bed. "What did happen to you, Lyrica?" Murdia questioned of the young girl. "Well, my country was at war with another country. My family was one of the more wealthier ones of the country, and when it looked like we would lose the war, my parents decided the family should flee. The other country, however, had finished setting up a blockade of our country, and the ship my family had wasn't meant to stand up to attack, so that's how Murakaji came to save me." Lyrica explained.

"What was the name of this other country?" Murdia decided to ask. "It was...something odd. Aeaea, I think?" Lyrica replied. That caused Murdia to pause for a minute to realize that she had been out of the loop on what her home country had been doing. She had been gone long enough for them to go to war in the time frame Lyrica described, and she hadn't been getting letters from her homeland that often either. "Alright, I'll let you join the guild, and you can come with me and the others into the labyrinth today." Murdia said.

"Yay! You won't regret it wise owl!" Lyrica exclaimed, leaping towards Murdia and giving the other girl a tight hug. After a few, tense moments, at least for Murdia, Lyrica let go, a happy smile on the girl's face once more. "Yeah...I hope I won't," Murdia said before heading to the door of her room, Lyrica following right behind her. It wasn't long before the two of them were gathering the other residents of the house to go down into the labyrinth. Of course, all of them asked who the girl with Murdia was, which got tiring really fast.

Eventually, however, the entire group was ready to go, save for Murakaji. He informed them that with more than five people in a group in the labyrinth, there wasn't enough room, and people tend to got in the way of each other then. With that said, Murdia tasked the ninja with taking care of the estate, and Cloud, for the day before they departed. Whatever else he did for the day wasn't much their concern at all.

"So, erm...another kid? Just how many kids want to conquer the labyrinth anyway?" Ignius decided to ask on their way to the guild to register the new member. "Hey, I resent that! I ain't just a regular kid!" Lyrica decided to tell him. "Mmh, yeah, true. You stalk Murakaji, right?" Ignius said in reply. "Grr...why does everyone keep saying that?" Lyrica muttered to herself. Most everyone that had been told the story about what happened said she stalked him; Murdia knew they were just joking with her though.

"When we enter the labyrinth, Lyrica, try not to put yourself into the front lines. I don't want you getting hurt." Murdia said soon after they had registered the new girl into the guild. The guildmaster had also questioned the recent influx of young children joining guilds, but he let Lyrica join anyway. "Pfft, like the monsters in there could hit me anyway," Lyrica said to Murdia, casting a glance towards said girl. "Buuut...fine, I'll take your advice and stay in the back with ya." Lyrica added after seeing the look on Murdia's face.

It wasn't long before the group arrived at the entrance to the labyrinth. Unlike last time, however, no one interrupted them as they entered it, and as she had promised, Lyrica stuck close to Murdia as they entered. "Wow...it's real pretty, even though tons of people died here," Lyrica commented, looking around in wonder as they walked. "Ah! Obviously, it's a trap! Whatever made this place would want people to get distracted!" Lyrica announced; she spoke just a few moments before the group came upon a guard, a little past some sort of waterfall.

"Ah, hello! I heard there would be newcomers!" He cried out upon spotting them, giving the approaching group a small wave. "I know you heard this already, but you have to map the first floor of the labyrinth. I, meanwhile, have to teach you in the cartographic arts." he told the group. ""Team Kvnui don't need help like that from the golem! The snake knows how to make maps!" Lyrica said, a smile on her face. After a moment, the guard spoke again, after wondering whether it was a good idea to let someone that crazy into a guild. "Ah, well then...you know your job. Get on with it." he replied, before blocking the path forward, apparently to indicate they had to map all other parts of the first floor except the part past him.

"Lyrica...I'd like it if you didn't make everyone wonder if it's a good idea to let you be in a guild." Murdia said just a little while later to the girl while they discussed whether they should question the guard about anything. The group decided there wasn't anything, and proceeded onwards. A moment later, the group encountered the first battle of their guild, and the encounter came in the form of Lyrica. She had gotten a bit distracted by the beauty once again, and thus, was a bit behind the group.

"Giant fish with giant fangs! It's going chomp chomp!" Lyrica shouted as she ran away from a chasing group of monsters; to be more specific, they were 4 giant fishes with giant fangs. "Oh you have to be kidding me..." Murdia muttered to herself, before the four of them rushed forward to engage the giant fish. It was surprisingly easy to fight them, though they did get a few scrapes from the giant fangs the fish possessed.

"I thought I told you to stick close to me, Lyrica..." Murdia said to the ninja girl; though Murdia supposed it didn't matter. After all, during the battle, the fish had barely managed to hit Lyrica at all; she apparently hadn't been boasting earlier. "Ehehe...well, the snake just wanted to appreciate the natural beauty of its environment, you can't blame it for that!" Lyrica said in response. "...Guess it doesn't matter. Anyway, whoever or whatever made this labyrinth has more imagination than whoever or whatever made the labyrinth in Lagaard." Murdia said with a sigh before they moved onward.

The only other enemies they encountered was some sort of sphere shaped monster with sharp spikes attached to it. It was also a rather tricky beast too; the only reason they found out it was a monster was when it revealed its face. Otherwise, it was just hiding up in the trees, posing as a piece of fruit; which Lyrica found out the hard way since she was going from tree to tree.

They also encountered a frog, and at first, they thought nothing of it once they saw it for the first time. It did, after all, look like an ordinary frog, but just bigger. They soon after found themselves under attack by its overly large tongue; none of them were that merry afterwards, even the hyperactive Lyrica. That frog had been the biggest challenge they faced so far, and soon after happening upon it, they went into a dead end...which contained a 'helpful' sign.

"CAUTION! Not all roads in the Labyrinth lead ahead. Only explorers who are careful to

examine their full surroundings will be able to continue forth?" Murdia muttered to herself, but loud enough for the others to hear, as she read the sign. "That's some lame advice right there...I could offer better advice in my sleep." Ignius said in response, frowning at the sign. "Like anyone would want your advice, Ignius." Eda said in response, giving him a glance. Ignius feigned a wounded look in response, and Eda gave him an exasperated sigh in return. "Hmm...I dunno. If you look at it the right way, there's a secret message in it." Lyrica said, a smile on her face.

"...I don't see it Lyrica. You sure it's there?" Ignius questioned, looking at Lyrica with a frown. "Yeah, yeah! Sure it's there! Do I look like I would lie to you, O stubborn one?" Lyrica replied, stopping herself from giggling. "Then what's the secret message?" Murdia decided to ask of Lyrica. "If the snake told you all that, it wouldn't be any fun at all!" Lyrica informed Murdia, frowning just a bit. "...I don't think there's any message at all. Besides, what's with the large print?" Murdia commented as she walked back the way they came; soon after, the others followed.

_We have decided to stop for a moment. Currently, we're near a treasure chest that contained a Nectar...which makes me suspicious. Just WHO put this treasure chest here anyway? Someone had to, and if the Labyrinth itself somehow put it here, then that's a bit of a scary thought. Then again, whatever, or whoever, made this Labyrinth might have put it here, but why? Anyway, we're going to be moving on soon; the group did decide it would be a quick stop, after all. Lyrica's also still insisting that a sign we came across earlier has a secret message, but none of us see it._

Murdia closed her journal and, after making sure the others were ready, they were on the move once again. It was not long before they reached another spot; they had managed to wander into a dead end. However, as Lyrica was pointing out/exclaiming, it seemed a bit different from the rest of the first floor. "It's all gentle and stuff, it's bright too! Plus, plus, no big bad monsters here either! Ooh, can we take a lunch break? Like, like, a picnic!" Lyrica said, in a bit of a rush. The group's answer was to move on, with Murdia making a quick note in the journal about the location.

"Wait..." Afia commented as they moved along more; most of the fights they encountered hadn't been too difficult too far either, hence the surprise about to come. "Hm? What what? What's the matter tiger?" Lyrica asked from a tree above Afia; despite the group's encounter with Deadly Durians, as they agreed to call them, Lyrica decided to stay in the trees. "There's...something approaching us; something strong," Afia said, and a moment later, a strong creature leaped out of a group of nearby trees towards Afia. She quickly raised her blade and blocked the creature's claws. "That...must be a Great Lynx." Murdia commented to herself as they began to fight the creature.

_We...got our butts handed to us by an immensely powerful creature. I surmised it was a Great Lynx, and as people at the inn told us, my guess was right. What the hell was whoever made this place thinking when they put that thing on the first floor? Also, apparently, there are stronger enemies than that on the second floor; something called a Gigapede at night, and some sort of giant duck during the day. From what people said, I don't relish fighting either._

_Anyway...Afia got knocked unconscious by the great beast during the fight. Ignius almost got knocked out too, but he managed to just barely hang on to see the fight through to the end. On the way back, we found a treasure chest with a Medica inside, and a shortcut into a room with a locked chest and a Amrita. Opposite of where we entered was another shortcut that led out somewhere near the sign mentioned earlier. Luckily, we didn't meet any enemies that wiped us out._

_Oh, right, and when we got back to the city, we were told we'd have to pay a fee to get Afia conscious again, but we didn't really have that much money to spare. Thankfully, during the fights, we had been gathering parts of the monsters that had gotten torn off during the fight, and apparently, they pay a pretty penny at Edie's place. So, we sold that stuff off, revived Afia, upgraded our equipment(where we could, anyway), and decided to spend the night at the inn; the mansion, unfortunately, doesn't have healers._

_Tomorrow, I hope Afia is up for exploring the rest of the first floor; if she isn't, we can put it off another day, but I want to finish this as fast as we can. From what I can tell, after we finish mapping the area the guard designated, there will only be a little left until we finish mapping the first floor. Then again...the southern end of the map does seem a little empty; I wonder why that is?_


	4. Kujura

Murdia awoke the next morning, mostly due to the sound of her door opening. When she glanced at said door, eyes bleary due to just waking up, she saw it was still just as closed as it'd been last night, and she frowned. That was when she felt something land on her stomach with a loud yell; one that sounded like it belonged to a certain ninja. "ooh, wise owl, wise owl! Guess what? Tiger's gonna be okay!" Lyrica cried out, a grin on her face as she bounced up and down, just a little, on Murdia's stomach.

"She's going to be...okay?" Murdia repeated. She was trying not to show it, she was trying to be strong, but she was glad; she had grown to care about Afia. "Well well, not completely okay! I think the red mask is going to have to come with us today. Tiger doesn't seem up to growling, or biting." Murdia said, shaking her head in mock sadness. She was, of course, joking; Murdia could tell that much. The young girl before her wasn't likely to lie about Afia being okay, Murdia knew that much at the least. "Even if she can't come today...that's good. I was worried." Murdia admitted as she sat up, rubbing the sleep out of her eyes. "The snake was too..." Lyrica said, sounding deflated for a moment before she perked up, smiled, and energetically hopped off the bed. "Welp, see ya in a bit, wise owl!" she cried cheerfully before leaving, also energetically.

Murdia did what she felt was best, and that was gather up everyone as soon as they had finished their morning preparations. Not that there were many preparations they were able to make; it wasn't as if the inn helped them much in that regard. After rounding up the group, they set off; the day was unusually bright, but then again, almost all days in Armoroad seemed to be like that. Before they set off for the dungeon, however, Murdia wanted to make sure that Afia was okay. True, she had been told by Lyrica already that she was, but she wanted to make sure for herself.

They reached the room of Afia soon enough, and the others decided to make themselves scarce as she went inside. Afia was laying on the bed in the room; she still looked pretty banged up, considering the bandages that seemed to cover most of her body. It was sad to see her in that state; she was easily the strongest of their group, at least when it came to attacking. That came at the cost of laughably poor defense; she wasn't able to take a hit that well at all, despite how confident she was. "Hey. Lyrica tells me you're going to be okay?" Murdia questioned, causing Afia to glance at her. "Oh, Murdia. I should have guessed you'd talk to me before going back in," Afia commented, before looking away from the zodiac.

"Yeah, I'll live." she said with a frown; Murdia detected that she wasn't quite happy with that. Had she been affected more than Murdia thought by all of this? Murdia hoped not; she knew some adventurers lost their taste for the labyrinths soon after entering them, either due to injury related reasons or despair at having lost their friends, their teammates. As they sat there, Murdia made the resolution that that would not happen to them; there was no way they would lose anyone while they explored the Labyrinth. "I mean...are you really okay?" Murdia questioned of her, keeping her gaze on her friend as she asked the question.

"I don't know. I came here for the sake of my last guild, but...but I couldn't even defend myself against a Great Lynx, a creature practically designed to kill off weak adventurers new to this! How could I let myself get defeated by it?" Afia questioned. Murdia got it now; the girl blamed herself for what had happened. "Sometimes, Afia, there are great obstacles you can't defeat by yourself. Sometimes there are obstacles you can't even beat with friends. In either of those cases, you have to get stronger. You can't give up. The stars put obstacles in our place for a reason, after all." Murdia said, offering her a smile. Afia looked at her and couldn't help but giggle a little; a sad, hiccupy giggle, but a giggle nonetheless. "More of your star junk. Do the stars ever not speak to you?" Afia questioned jokingly; she was cheerful again.

"Heh. Yes, more of my star junk. Get well soon, Afia. I don't want to see you get hurt anymore; I hate seeing you like this." Murdia admitted. Afia nodded her head and watched the zodiac leave before looking back to the ground, sighing once more. "That girl...I hope this doesn't end up like my guild in Laagard." Afia reflected. She didn't want anyone dying either, even if she rarely showed that side of herself to her fellow guild mates. She had a feeling though. A feeling that this guild would be successful in exploring the Labyrinth.

Murdia walked away from Afia's room, feeling conflicted. On one hand, she wanted to stay and talk with the girl more; the stars knew she didn't do _that_ enough. On the other, however, she wanted to continue to explore the Labyrinth; she knew the others did as well. They probably were concerned about Afia as well, but they were obviously putting their thoughts about that to the side, at least for the moment. "Alright people, let's move out," Murdia said to the group waiting for her. The mood was relatively excited, both for the excursion and for the fact that Afia was going to survive; she noticed that Murakaji seemed to be noticeably quiet, as if he didn't care too much. She always got the feeling about him, as if this were all business.

_We're resting now, watching this large monster roam back and forth. I suppose that's not the best place to start this entry though. We went into the Labyrinth again, obviously. Afia wasn't up to it, but thankfully, it seems like she will live. I'm glad for that; I really am. I don't think I would have been able to continue doing this had she not survived. After speaking to her for a little bit this morning, and listening to her complain about my spiel about the stars, we departed for the Labyrinth._

_It was as beautiful as ever, or at least, Lyrica decided to keep telling us that. I, truthfully, would not be surprised if we found her dead in her sleep one of these days, with Murakaji as the culprit. It's kind of adorable in a way, the way she pesters him, but I think I'm going to have to inform her soon enough of just how much she ticks him off. Nothing too interesting happened, at least not on the first floor. We found yet another room, this time filled with two chests holding treasures, namely 100 en and a Medica II. Again, I wonder who is just putting this stuff here._

_Near the treasure room we also found a shortcut. We cut a large hole in the monsters dwelling on the floor, and along the way, we came across a spot perfect for resting. It was a small passage near the waterfall; upon feeling the breeze, Lyrica declared we had to rest there. There's really no complaining with Lyrica so...we rested for just a little bit. Lyrica was trying to show us some ninja tricks, namely disappearing, but she failed horribly. Murakaji picked up the slack though and showed how they're really supposed to be done._

_Later we came upon a similar situation. I was mostly suspicious this time because it was just a room filled with a sweet fragrance, as if to lead us into a false sense of security for a trap. Lyrica again insisted on staying, and I'm staring to wonder just how much sleep she got last night. She doesn't even seem to get much sleep anyway, so I doubt it was much. Thankfully, nothing killed us in our sleep, or rather, naps, and we were moving on soon enough._

_Perhaps it would have been best had this next event happened before finding the previous resting spot. We heard animal cries at a dead end with footprints at said dead end. They led to the east, and once more, Lyrica rushed off that way, declaring that we had to help the "poor animal". It seemed to be caught in a trap of some kind, and before we could warn her to be cautious, Lyrica had already cut the animal down. Unfortunately, its parents...well, they did not seem too happy with us and attacked; I blame it on Lyrica's bad luck._

_We defeated the platypus', though we made sure to not kill them. They were just scared and defending their home, after all. Murakaji expressed a bit of disapproval at this, as platypus parts sell for quite a bit at Napier's Firm, but no one else raised any objections so he didn't do anything about it. I feel he's a bit of a wild card, this Murakaji; like one instant he could be your best friend or your worst enemy. I still wonder just what it is he's doing in this place; he has yet to tell any of us, even his apprentice/stalker Lyrica._

_After checking our map, we were surprised to find that we had charted everywhere we possibly could without going past the guard. We took a break halfway back to the crossroads simply to congratulate each other; Lyrica actually managed to pull off a ninja trick or two this time as well. Though I noticed it was rather sloppy; still, I'm a bit proud of the girl. She might survive in this dungeon yet. After packing up, we soon came across the guard once more; he really didn't have anything too terribly interesting to tell us. All he really did was tell us to go back to the Senatus...and then he wouldn't even let us go past him, so we kind of had to._

_Not much interesting happened back in the town. We got a ton of en from the Senatus though for doing that easy mission, aside from the Great Lynx. That wasn't easy at all. We also journeyed to Napier's Firm; a shame that Afia wasn't there, because I was looking forward to what she might say now that we could buy from Edie. Apparently, she had been holding out on us with an item called the Ariadne Thread, an item that could let us return instantly to the city. Really, Edie? You weren't willing to give us that when we were just starting out, but now you are? Oh, wait, not give us it, let us buy it._

_So. Greedy._

_Next we went to the Butterfly Bistro, to see if we could accept quests now. Apparently, we now could, and we made full use of it. We have to get 1 frog cheek and 3 frog legs; Murakaji was already complaining about how we would already have that had we spent more time in the Labyrinth. Another quest is to find a good place to sunbathe. We still haven't found that spot yet, but I suppose it's only a matter of time; there still seems to be a lot of blank spots on the map for more places to explore._

_We also finally got a ship; it was interesting what the man who runs the port had to say. We decided to name the ship we got Gidaria, yet another word that means something else; in this case it means Guide. Kind of cheesy, I suppose, but oh well, not like that matters. We thanked the man for what he told us and after resting a bit, as well as upgrading equipment once again, we were back off into the Labyrinth, deciding that we should try to find the second floor before stopping for the day._

_We found the guard at the same place as before back in the dungeon, but instead of just standing there stoically saying nothing as we passed, he stopped us. He congratulated us (again) on having mapped the first floor, and gave us three hammers. He explained they were to forge special properties onto weapons; again, why are they saving this kind of stuff for us for when we get stronger? This would be much more helpful at the very beginning, in my opinion. Do they want all new adventurers to die?_

_Oh well, he was a nice enough fellow. We moved on again, and once again, Lyrica decided to do something stupid. We came across some mushrooms, and before we could do anything, Lyrica was already trying to eat one. Deciding that three outlandish things was enough, and to not push our luck, I pulled her away and gave a bit of a talking to to her. I feel kind of bad about it now, but I think she got the point that it isn't too intelligent to eat things that are growing in a (probably) intelligent labyrinth._

_We found another treasure room...this time one of the chests had a piece of armor in it. A piece. Of. Armor. How did it even fit! Oh well. It has feathers on it, and oddly, they're green in color. Why green? I don't know, but I think Afia would benefit from it somewhat. We also got some Bravant, whatever that is; we only know what it's called because of what's on the bottle. After assessing our injuries, we decided a quick journey back to Armoroad would be best._

_We learned some things while there. Namely, that Great Lynxes are weak to fire. Gee, I sure could have used that knowledge RIGHT AT THE START. This keeps happening. Good things happen after we're stronger, and not when we're weaker; it makes no sense. That side, we also turned in the quest involving frog parts. What does the client want with them anyway? Oh well...it's not as if it matters too much to us; the only real thing that matters is the reward...which in this case, was 3 tents. Tents. Great reward._

_We found the entrance to the second floor upon venturing back inside, and that's where we are now. A bit away, we can see some sort of large monster; he seems to be going back and forth, based on what we've observed so far. The trouble is, getting past him seems to be the only way to go forward; I shudder to think of what this is going to entail. At the least, it seems we'll have to get close to him to even progress._

Murdia put the journal away and glanced at her companions, a small smile on her face. They were slowly growing on her, all of them save for Murakaji; he was still as cold and stoic as ever. "Alright, enough resting! Let's get moving!" Murdia cried out, standing up and brushing the dirt off herself. Some of the others, notably Ignius, grumbled as they got up, but otherwise they were ready to move in a moment.

Before they got too far, a blonde, long-haired man showed up in front of them. He seemed to be wearing clothes similar in style to Afia's; was he a shogun as well? For the second time that day she wished Afia were with them, because surely she would know if he was a shogun or not. They seemed to realize the nomadic and independent souls of each other, after all. "Hold, explorers! There is much you should know to survive these depths. Heed my advice," he said to them, a friendly smile on his face. Despite that, they could all see the maturity he still held.

"Is this your first time on the second floor?" he asked, a fearsome aura about him. Murdia got the feeling that were they to ever go up against him, they would never stand a chance; she frowned a bit. "And just who are you?" she questioned. She was pleased to see the man momentarily caught off guard, surprised to have a question lodged at him instead. He still seemed amused, however, and quickly enough, he recovered enough to answer her.

"Me? I'm not the one you should concern yourself with right now. The monster ahead is," he explained to them, glancing ahead of all of them, towards the area the monster they had already seen was at. "Those who come here swaggering in triumph from the 1st floor...usually die at that beast's hand," he explained to them. Despite the fact that she had seen FOEs before, Murdia couldn't help but shudder a bit; they were fearsome beings, meant to completely decimate whole parties of adventurers by themselves. They were decimating just by themselves, she couldn't imagine fighting two at the same time.

"If everyone was smart enough to back away from fights they clearly can't win, there'd be no issue. But too many novice guilds perish from foolishly charging towards monsters beyond their abilities. I must caution you as well. Watch the enemy's movements before making your own," he said to them, giving another smile to them and a bow before walking off, farther into the forest. "I look forward to meeting you again, should our paths cross." he told them as he left. "Man, he seemed cocky, didn't he? Grumpy old lion. Kinda like Tiger, but not as grumpy, or stern." Lyrica commented, frowning at the retreating form, before turning her gaze to the beast.

"I know, I know. We have to come up with some sort of plan to either beat that thing or go around it. I would suggest we sneak around it though; I don't think we're yet powerful enough to take it," Murdia commented, glancing back to the stairs leading up to the first floor. "Besides, we've explored enough for today. We can handle waiting another day before exploring this floor some more. Our goal, after all, was only to find the way down to the second floor; I say meeting that fellow was more than enough. Now that I think of it, we never caught his name." Murdia commented; the group agreed with her decision, though she could tell that Murakaji was agitated. He definitely wanted to reach the lower depths at a quicker pace than they were going now, but why? Why rush it?

Sooner or later, she was sure, she would have to figure out his purpose for being with them.


End file.
